Rule of law
Why
In many states, the law or its institutions do not adequately provide people access to justice. Without access to justice, human rights cannot be realised. Our systemic approach is well suited for addressing relevant justice providers as well as needs of rights holders in improving access to justice.
Our objective is to improve duty bearers’ capacity to provide justice services and rights holders’ ability to access justice. We do so by engaging with local partners – state and non-state justice actors –and supporting them to fulfil their diverse roles within their justice context.
How we work
Improving justice service delivery
We work with state and non-state actors to develop their capacity to improve justice services for rights-holders. This includes working with the judiciary, legal aid boards, lawyers, paralegals, informal justice actors and traditional leaders. In some cases, we create service models that ensure quality legal aid to people in custody – including providing detainees with legal information, representation in court, as well as ensuring they have contact with their families.
Strengthening legal and policy frameworks
We help justice actors to improve laws, policies, procedures and guidelines that better serve the needs of rights-holders and strengthens access to justice. This could include strengthening ombudsman institutions or supporting drafting legislation that provides free and effective legal aid.
Enhancing rights-holders’ knowledge and agency
We work with partners including justice service providers, human rights institutions, and civil society to raise awareness and enable rights-holders to seek justice and remedies for grievances. For instance, we help develop university legal clinics that reach out to local communities and individuals to provide them with legal information on how to resolve their disputes and grievances.
